Skyrim - The RPG for the Rest of Us @ IGN

Quasi-Medieval fantasy leaves me cold. When I trouble myself to read George R.R. Martin, my eyes roll at his absurd olde worlde lingo. I've never been tempted, not for one second, to actually play World of Warcraft. There are very few people in the world less qualified than me to write about RPGs.
All that leveling up, those tiresome stats, all those dreary fantasy tropes, the endless tinkering with skills and items. Yawn!
Like millions of others, the game I'll play more than any other this year is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The only reason this is worth mentioning is because I really, really don't like RPGs.

So basically the appeal of Skyrim for the author is that its an open-world/sandbox RPG rather than another more-linear form. Basically the freedom he might have enjoyed from GTA without having to do all the boring chores (in IV you literally had to do chores) before the world really opens up.

I'm not sure how to judge his argument on accessibility - the perk trees along with the elder scrolls leveling-by-use system means that being what you want to be is actually a more involved process than it is in many games. You can't just put points into a particular build or path, you actually have to actively peruse the skills you want to increase which, compared to some games with RPG elements, is actually a bit more demanding.

But yeah it does seem a bit too many words for what he's actually saying - though I guess I of all people have no right to criticize on that basis.

Having played every ES game ever made, this paragraph nearly made me choke:

"I know there is something odd about Bethesda's 'people' behavior models - the distinctive turning of the head, the creepy gaze - but no-one really does this stuff better. The hours I'll spend just bothering people in the street is actually pretty scary. And in Elder Scrolls, it really matters how you treat people, not just in the way the game pans out, but in how you feel about your character and yourself. If a book makes me feel that way, I count it as great. In a game, it's a real achievement. "

I usually avoid these types of articles. They tend to praise a game, then later down the road, jump on the bandwagon and start pointing out its flaws only when a sequel is announced. They can't (or won't?) dissuade people from purchasing the game (perhaps they're being paid not to, in fear that if they give their honest opinion, they'd lose common visitors due to disagreements) until a sequel is announced. Essentially, its approving everything about "X title" to keep their readers happy.

Originally Posted by rune_74
I was thinking the same thing, matter of fact I'm reading the current novel and there is nothing of the sort.

+1. Most probably the guy hasn't ever read seriously a Martin book (too bad for him).

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
Playing it for exploration and combat only, not expecting much else. If it ends up being a good RPG or having a good story it's like a bonus.

+1 again. I'll do the same, just like I did with Morrowind and Oblivion (altough I still think that Morrowind's plot isn't so bad, even if it's a bit generic). And I can add, apart of story and 'rpg' features, user mods: it's a sort of meta-game indeed.

Originally Posted by skavenhorde
Methinks thou naive was pondering Two Worlds…..either that or the writer is a moron.

I'm going with moron.

Just a quick skim of the article seems to support this theory. It amazes me how many "gaming" journalists there are like this, who clearly haven't got any background, or interest, in what they're talking about. Surely there's no shortage of people who do!

An RPG 'for the rest of us' would be great if not every major RPG being released wasn't 'for the rest of us'. I wish 'the rest of us' would play the games they like, that don't include any absurd olde worlde lingo, tiresome stats, dreary fantasy tropes, endless tinkering with skills and items, and leave the rest of them to 'not the rest of us'.

— "I am not interested in good; I am interested in new, even if this includes the possibility of it's being evil"
(LaMonte Young, 1962)

Originally Posted by Ball_Breaker
+1 again. I'll do the same, just like I did with Morrowind and Oblivion (altough I still think that Morrowind's plot isn't so bad, even if it's a bit generic). And I can add, apart of story and 'rpg' features, user mods: it's a sort of meta-game indeed.

Morrowind had really good back story and world lore I thought. The stuff with living gods and the disappearance of the dwarves, plus all the daedra lore. Good stuff there. The actual plotline was pretty thin though.

Oblivion, in my personal opinion, was pretty weak all around story-wise.

Amazing how a single article can demote a game from my "have to try" list to "not sure if this is for me"..
On the other hand it's been a while since I last saw the latest Skyrim screenshots and those vistas look absolutely amazing. If the engine is really capable of pulling off such open world beauty off the modding community or another developer (like with FN:V) should give it a try in creating a proper cRPG.

—

I'd just like to interject here and point out that I'm not going to say anything to spoil the mood, Chief. I'll just float here and watch. Don't mind me, just sitting here, floating and watching, that's me.

Originally Posted by Kostaz
Amazing how a single article can demote a game from my "have to try" list to "not sure if this is for me"..
On the other hand it's been a while since I last saw the latest Skyrim screenshots and those vistas look absolutely amazing. If the engine is really capable of pulling off such open world beauty off the modding community or another developer (like with FN:V) should give it a try in creating a proper cRPG.

Well there's about 13-14 posts here basically pointing out that the author appears to be talking out of the wrong orifice - and not just about this game, bethesda games, or even games in general. I wouldn't let this article sway you one way or another really.

Its been mentioned by more than one person already - but there is a good argument for avoiding these sorts of vapid pre-reviews. That is certainly not criticism for it being listed in the watch's news feed though. These sorts of articles, despite containing no new information, are quite relevant - though more so with regard to the discussion of the general quality of video game journalism and the effect that content mills like IGN can have on it.